Bank of Montreal Can Reduces Stake in The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU)

Bank of Montreal Can lowered its stake in shares of The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) by 11.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 45,991 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 5,886 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can’s holdings in Western Union were worth $570,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. MCF Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Western Union in the 1st quarter valued at about $30,000. Riverview Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of Western Union in the first quarter valued at approximately $32,000. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Western Union during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Western Union by 59.9% in the 1st quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,292 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 1,233 shares during the period. Finally, Mather Group LLC. purchased a new position in Western Union in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $103,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.81% of the company’s stock.

Western Union Price Performance

WU stock opened at $11.60 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.98, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.05. The firm has a market cap of $3.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.86, a P/E/G ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 0.86. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $11.84 and its 200 day moving average is $12.53. The Western Union Company has a 52 week low of $10.92 and a 52 week high of $14.19.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The credit services provider reported $0.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.45 by ($0.01). Western Union had a return on equity of 123.71% and a net margin of 13.64%. The company had revenue of $1.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.06 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.51 earnings per share. Western Union’s revenue was down 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that The Western Union Company will post 1.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Western Union Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th were issued a $0.235 dividend. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. Western Union’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 55.62%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on WU. Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $13.00 target price on shares of Western Union in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Western Union from $14.00 to $12.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. StockNews.com raised shares of Western Union from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on shares of Western Union from $16.00 to $14.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have issued a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $13.14.

Western Union Profile

The Western Union Company provides money movement and payment services worldwide. The company operates through Consumer Money Transfer and Consumer Services segments. The Consumer Money Transfer segment facilitates money transfers for international cross-border and intra-country transfers, primarily through a network of retail agent locations, as well as through websites and mobile devices.